1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device equipped with a planar heater.
2. Description of the Related Art
One example of a planar heater is disclosed in JP2001-326060A.
FIG. 11 is an illustration depicting a conventional planar heater. This planar heater has electrodes 1110, 1120 disposed on opposite sides of a heating element 1100; during heating, electrical current flows in one direction (indicated by the arrows) between the electrodes 1110, 1120. In a different structure, a planar heater has a nichrome wire disposed in a serpentine path over the heating surface.
Conventional planar heaters such as these tend to give rise to bias in temperature distribution, making uniform heating difficult in some instances. Since the placement of the electrodes or terminals is determined in a manner dependent on the shape and structure of the heating element, a resultant problem is low flexibility in terms of selecting terminal placement.